What started out as a hobby for Cassia Alphonso has propelled her into the national spotlight as a prize-winning poet.
Her manuscript of poems Black Cake Mix won the 2012 Guyana Prize for Literature award for the Best Book of Poetry jointly with Ian McDonald’s The Comfort of All Things. This achievement was both a surprise and an honour for her since she submitted her work, unknown to even the members of her family, and without any expectations of winning. Her first surprise came when she was shortlisted and later when she was declared the joint winner with McDonald.
“Writing has never been a chore for me,” she said during a recent interview when asked to recount her literary journey. She said she tried writing as a child but as a teenager took it more seriously and consequently developed more technical awareness as she focused on writing short stories.
Cassia, 25, said her interest in writing was triggered by the fact that she was an avid reader since childhood. She recounted to Stabroek News the experiences of having her mother Simone encourage her and her brothers to read by offering them gifts if they completed selected readings within a designated period. However, Cassia said she soon became self motivated enough to read without the promises of gifts.
It was during her years as a student at Hamilton College in Upstate New York, where she majored in English and minored in Economics that Cassia began writing poetry. She said she would write and show her work to her professors for their critical input.
This, she said, was instrumental in her growth as a poet. She draws from the work of writers such as Toni Morrison, Evan James, Maya Angelou, Jamaica Kincaid, and some of her professors like Jane Springer.
Questioned about her prize-winning work, Cassia disclosed that she started working on the poems after she had completed college. The collection consists of about 14 poems written between 2010 and early 2012. After reviewing them she sent them to her college professors for assistance with editing. Describing the collection as an “ode to Guyana”, Cassia says she tells the stories of many, particularly women who she has met, observed or whose stories she has heard. “A lot of the poetry that I wrote about was about women, some of them found that bliss and that happiness, while others their path waned more towards something sad or not exactly what they had sought out in the onset,” she explained.
A striking feature of her work is the usage of the Guyanese dialect, which she said helps to give her work a Guyanese flavour.
Cassia is determined to take her writing career one step at a time. Her first goal is to publish the prize-winning collection and she is currently exploring various avenues to get this done.
Meanwhile, Cassia continues to write and is currently working on some short stories which she says she is likely to publish in the future.
Her encouragement to young writers is to read a lot and not to pressure themselves. She also sees value in writing workshops which can aid in the technical aspects of writing. While admitting that she has not been exposed to much local writing, Cassia said she is impressed with some of the work she has seen. She believes that Guyana does have a lot of potential and sees the country playing a major role in the literary movement in the Caribbean. In fact, the young writer believes that there should be greater collaboration among writers in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Cassia says she has no plans of migrating. She says that after having the experience of living overseas she realises how blessed Guyana is and how much she is attached to her family. She currently helps her father, businessman Alfro Alphonso, with the management of his companies—a job which she enjoys. And if she could have her way she would continue in the dual roles of businesswoman and writer.
